unbound

[uhn-bound]

See more synonyms for unbound on Thesaurus.com

verb

simple past tense and past participle of unbind.

adjective

not bound, as a book.
free; not attached, as by a chemical bond: unbound electrons.

Origin of unbound

before 900; (adj.) Middle English unbounde, unbunden, Old English unbunden; see un-¹, bound¹

Can be confusedunbound unbounded

unbind

[uhn-bahynd]

verb (used with object), un·bound, un·bind·ing.

to release from bonds or restraint, as a prisoner; free.
to unfasten or loose, as a bond or tie.

Origin of unbind

before 950; Middle English unbinden, Old English unbindan; cognate with German entbinden. See un-², bind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for unbound

unblock, unloosen, loosen, disentangle, unloose, loose, free, disengage, unbutton, unlock, unclasp, unravel, slip, release, untie, unwrap, unfasten, unclose, unfix, unstop

Examples from the Web for unbound

Contemporary Examples of unbound

He glides almost instantly from place to place as if unbound by mortal shackles such as gravity and momentum.
How the Oklahoma City Thunder Out-Heated the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals
Jesse Singal
June 13, 2012
So many of the delegates who are coming to the convention are unbound delegates.
Rick Santorum, Paul Ryan, Joe Biden and More Sunday Talk
The Daily Beast Video
April 1, 2012

Historical Examples of unbound

He unbound his crimson silk cloth and whisked it about in the water to wash it.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
She unbound and bound him in sections, as it were; he watching her with a morose smile.
Stories of a Western Town
Octave Thanet
Her glowing copper hair, all unbound, fell about her shoulders like a mantle.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
My unbound books, and all my tracts and pamphlets, are to be tied up with pink tape.
"Stops"
Paul Allardyce
They unbound him and took him with them in their wanderings for three years.
Canada: the Empire of the North
Agnes C. Laut

British Dictionary definitions for unbound

unbound

verb

the past tense and past participle of unbind

adjective

(of a book) not bound within a cover
not restrained or tied down by bonds
(of a morpheme) able to form a word by itself; free

unbind

verb -binds, -binding or -bound (tr)

to set free from restraining bonds or chains; release
to unfasten or make loose (a bond, tie, etc)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unbound

unbind

Old English unbindan, "to free from binding," from un- (2) + bind (v.). Cf. German entbinden, Dutch ontbinden. Literal and figurative senses both present in Old English.

Suæ huæt ðu unbindes ofer eorðu bið unbunden in heofnum. [Lindisfarne Gospels, Matt. xvi:19]

Unbound is from Old English unbunden, in literal sense. Figurative sense first attested late 14c.; of books from 1540s.